Interview with Manaka-Sensei on the Creation of Jinen Ryu
By Evan London of Jinenkan Inazuma Dojo, translated by David Hewitt; Conducted via email in September of 2002

The following is a short email exchange regarding some of the reasoning and methods behind Manaka-Sensei's creation of the Jinen Ryu

Evan London: When did you first have the idea of creating your own school?

Unsui Sensei: About ten years ago. (about 1992- EL)

EL: What was your motivation in creating Jinen Ryu?

US: I wanted to assemble all the things that were not properly covered in the Ryu-Ha I had studied.

EL: What were your goals when you first started? Did those goals change over time?

US: Essentially the same answer as the previous question; Take Biken as an example. In Togakure Ryu and Kukishin Ryu, there are kamae, and after the kamae the scroll jumps directly to kata. Basic methods of attacking and basic methods of defending are not covered, and I felt the need to fill that space. I could not create something myself and include it in Togakure Ryu or Kukishin Ryu, so I created my own Ryu-Ha instead. Looking at Jutte, in Kukishin Ryu it begins suddenly with Kata, but no basics. Kusarifundo had nothing whatsoever written down, so it needed to be given a form.

EL; When did you begin to put pen to paper and document your ideas?

US: Also about ten years ago.

EL: What was the first step in doing so?

US: Again, essentially the same answer as questions 2&3. I trained on my own and worked out the best material to fill those gaps. Taking the example of Biken once again, I created the attacking and defending basics, then created kata as well. I couldn't just take the kata of Kukishin or Togakure Ryu and put them into my school, so I created my own, techniques to cover various situations, for example if the opponent has a spear or staff, etc.

EL: How did you decide on the name "Jinen Ryu"?

US: Jinen uses the written characters for Nature. There is no movement that is superior to what occurs in Nature.

EL: How did you decide on which weapons to include and exclude?

US: same answer as questions 2&3

EL: Are there any that you initially considered but decided not to include?

US: There were; one example is Kyoketsu-shogei. The main reason is that I did not have enough time. Also, the essentials of Kyoketsu Shogei are learned by studying Tanto and Kusarifundo.

EL: For each individual weapon you included, what ryuha did you use for inspiration?

US: For Biken, I used Kukishin and Togakure sword techniques. The basis for Tanto is Kukishin-Ryu Kodachi. Kusarifundo comes mainly from Togakure Ryu. Jutte comes from Kukishin Ryu juttejutsu. Nito Ryu (double sword) is wholly original, using Taijutsu as a basis.

EL: How did you decide what aspects for each weapon to emphasize in the techniques and kata?

US: I used whatever were the special qualities of that weapon.

EL: How long did it take for you to develop the whole Jinen Ryu Densho?

US: About five years.

EL: Will you be doing any further development or do you feel that it is complete?

US: It will certainly be developed further. It is not complete, and it will never be complete, because there is always a next step.

EL: Where do you see Jinen Ryu going in the future?

US: That depends on all of you.

EL: Will you utilize a licensing system such as that used by many koryu (e.g., shoden menkyo through menkyo kaiden) to transmit Jinen-ryu? Or will the ryu become incorporated into the present Jinenkan kyu-dan ranking system?

US: If someone were interested in that, it is a possibility. Obviously they would have to be able to perform the techniques well. I could give licensing for Jinen Ryu, because it is my responsibility, but I will not give licensing for any of the other Ryu-ha.